A roadside bomb exploded in Egypt on Sunday, injuring seven South Africans who were among 17 tourists whose bus was targeted near the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza outside the capital Cairo, near where the famous pyramids are situated.
The South African International Cooperation Ministry has yet to confirm the reports from Cairo.
According to initial reports from Egypt’s state media, ten of those wounded were Egyptians, apart from the seven injured South Africans.
There were a total of 25 South Africans on the targeted bus, the reports said.
Sunday’s incident comes after three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit their bus as it travelled near the pyramids in December 2018.
Egypt’s tourism sector has suffered for years due to a series of deadly attacks targeting holidaymakers following the turmoil of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.
Authorities have gone to great lengths to lure tourists back, touting a series of archaeological finds and a new museum next to the pyramids, as well as enhanced security at airports and around ancient sites.
The industry has slowly picked up, however, with tourist arrivals reaching 8.3 million in 2017, compared with 5.3 million the previous year, official statistics show.
But that figure was still far short of the record influx of 2010 when more than 14 million visitors flocked to see the country’s sites, according to the records.
NM/as/APA